


Gold Medal Dreamer

by milkbreadcat



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Bad Parenting, Character Study, Comfort, Gen, Growth, Happy Ending, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:02:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27449842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/milkbreadcat/pseuds/milkbreadcat
Summary: A boy with his head in the stars, chasing his dreams. Those who hated his dreams, no matter how hard he worked or what he did. And those who helped him up again, healing him so he could continue to chase the stars.Or, Oikawa Tooru has a lot of dreams, and while some may not support them or his goals, he knows his chosen family has his back.
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 36





	Gold Medal Dreamer

Oikawa was used to people giving up on him or replacing him. The judgement casted on him by his peers, ex's and even family members. The burning pain in his heart from being abandoned wasn't new either. From a young age he was called a dreamer, and back then it was cute, because to then he was just a cute kid who didn't know reality from fiction. But as he grew, so did the judgement. He went from being the cute dreamer to the self-absorbed fool, self-deluded by grandiose he would never achieve. Or so they believed. 

Few stuck with him through his dreams, most thinking it was impossible or replacing him. Sometimes they'd give up on him right away, other times they'd stick for a bit, getting his hopes up, only to leave in the end. No matter how much work he put in, how much he tried to share his goals or show how close he was to making them reality, it always ended the same.

Even his parents weren't safe. They raised and supported his older sister until she married and even after. And they thought his dreams were cute, or they did until he hit middle school. Then the pressure began. Being told to stop focusing so much on volleyball and on school instead, so he could get into a good high school (which would lead him to a good university,) so that he would have a good career to support himself and his future wife and kids. That he could like volleyball and play it for his club, but he would never be able to go anywhere with it. It was the subject to many fights.

He could never make them happy, he kept straight A's in his courses, had a healthy social life, girlfriends and managed to do it all while playing volleyball. He worked himself to the bone, watching his replacement being trained out of the corner of his eyes, a prodigy they said. So, he worked harder. He would be so good that they couldn't replace him on the team, so good his parent's would be happy.

Iwaizumi saw him work himself dry and when Oikawa broke down from pressure, getting lost in the darkness, he led him back to safety. If anyone was going to achieve what Oikawa dreamed of, it would be Oikawa himself, Iwaizumi would make sure of it. Partners in arms, no matter what, they trusted each other through thick and thin, and that trust was placed in Oikawa's dreams as well. The first time Oikawa got injured in volleyball, Iwaizumi took care of him. It was the passion he saw in Oikawa's eyes when he played that would lead him to his future as well, not that he cared much as long as the two stayed together.

Oikawa's parents gave up on him after his first year of high school. What was the final straw, he could never figure out. He was exactly what they wanted him to be, yet it wasn't enough. They hated his dreams, even if he could work to achieve them while balancing what they wanted. His parents moved, he wasn't consulted and his sister and her husband took let him stay with them. In exchange, he watched Takeru when he could. The only remainder of them in his life was the fact that they paid his school fees when they were due.

Iwaizumi's parents had reached out to her when they saw the for-sale sign on her parent's old house, preferring talking to her or Tooru over her parents, who always rubbed them the wrong way with their cold air. The second they heard that the Oikawa's were moving they offered their home to her brother stating that if he had no family to take him in and support him that they saw him, big dreams and all, like a second son. That they would rather Iwaizumi and Tooru stay together, as friends, teammates, and schoolmates. She declined, stating she would take him in with open arms, but that call always played at the back of her head. If something happened, she would make sure he went to move in with them.

His sister lived 30 minutes from his old house, he had to bus at five in the morning to make it for practice, catching the last night bus possible in order to train longer, sometimes ending up staying with Iwaizumi when he ended his personal practice too late. But he made it work, he was determined. He was a top student, top captain, top setter, and a top uncle. Oikawa's sister didn't understand his dream fully, but knew she would rather die than take away what made him who he was. And she wanted him in her, and her son's, life. So, she supported him the best she could, making sure he ate and slept, going to the odd match when she could.

She could see his dream passing on to her son, and it filled her with pride. Takeru loved volleyball, she could see the same passion in his eyes, and always raved (albeit in secret) about playing with his uncle. The two played around and poked fun of each other, but she knew they both loved one another. And it was that that made her promise herself and her husband, she would never be like her parents. They would support Takeru no matter what, he deserved the love and support, and they would give the same to Oikawa. His big dreams still scared her a bit, but she knew she would pick him up if he fell, and that Iwaizumi would light the way for her brother so he didn't get lost.

Oikawa kept working hard no matter what happened in his personal life, his dreams causing several breakups, but inspiring his team, who believed in him the most. Iwaizumi and he worked to take charge of the team from second year on, the setter being appointed captain and Iwaizumi the vice-president (and later in third year, ace.) If anyone believed in the setter’s dreams and his ability to reach it, to the point of better their life savings on it, besides his sister, it was Iwaizumi, Hanamaki, and Matsukawa. They trusted in him as much as they trusted in themselves, working side by side with the setter to bring their, and the teams, best. When Iwaizumi and Oikawa got together halfway through their last year, they were the first to know (and the first who saw it coming on the team on their first year,) and were the ones to support them the most besides Iwaizumi's family and Oikawa's sister's side. Sure, they joked around and poked fun at him, but it was out of love, and even Oikawa knew that. The four supported each other like family. 

Practicing, studying, relaxing, the four did it all together. And when graduation came, they planned the future together as well, pouring the fuel to light the fire of each other's dreams. Oikawa's choice to move was supported by them, as well as Iwaizumi's. Hanamaki and Matsukawa were the one's who helped the couple pack and saw them off, the two choosing their flights for the same day. The group chat between the four was always somehow active, regardless of them existing in different time zones. 

While Iwaizumi when to California to study sports science, Oikawa flew to Argentina for volleyball. The two worked hard and built new lives, but always stayed connected. From crying because neither could get used to new languages, and homesickness, to celebrating honor rolls and starting positions, they stayed connected, as they had been before. Sure, it wasn’t the same, they didn’t live close to each other, or go to the same school and play on the same team, but the two were meant to stick together, and they made sure they stayed that way. Even in different countries, they balanced each other out. Iwaizumi made sure Oikawa took care of himself, making sure he didn’t work himself dry as he had before, while Oikawa made sure Iwaizumi remembered that there was more to life than hard work, and to take time to have fun. During breaks, they would visit each other or go explore somewhere different together, treating the trips as week-long dates. Iwaizumi would show Oikawa around his campus and they would go visit all the attractions his college state had to offer. Oikawa would show Iwaizumi his team’s dorm, and they’d spend nights on the beach enjoying the sights or dancing.

Eventually, Iwaizumi graduated, and Oikawa flew in to see his graduation ceremony. At the after party, the two got engaged, proposing to each other and calling the rest of their old team to announce the news first, calling family right after. The morning after, both received a call at the same time waking them up. The offers were both different, yet interconnected. Oikawa was offered a spot on the Argentinean National Team, thus allowing him to play volleyball on a whole new stage, the Olympics. Meanwhile, Iwaizumi was scouted to be an athletic for Japan Men's Volleyball Team. They spent the remainder of their week together, celebrating their accomplishments and helping each other prepare for the new stage of life. Both knew that while spending this time apart would suck, just as it always had, if they could live through it, they would be together again eventually while supporting each others’ dreams.

As they had when they left Japan, both got on their flights the same day (as they always did whenever their week-long dates ended,) separating with a kiss (or several,) and the promise to give it their all at the Olympics. No going soft just because they were engaged, they would give it 110%. Hanamaki and Matsukawa met Iwaizumi at the airport, welcoming him back with a small party and getting him settled for his new job. Meanwhile on the other side of the globe, Oikawa flew back to Argentina and was naturalized as an Argentinean citizen, guaranteeing his spot on his new team as the main setter. Within a month of training with the team, they were running like well-oiled machine, each player a different piece, and Oikawa made sure to pull the best out of every single player so that they would prove to be the team on the court the longest.

Then the time came, Oikawa flew to Japan, choosing to arrive two days earlier than his team to have the little bit of time to see Iwaizumi, his old team, his sister and his nephew. Those who stood by him even as his world fell apart, those who let him chase the dreams that scared others off and who supported him through it all. If he could live through all he had already faced, then with their support, this was just another day, and he would live through and win this as well. His family, both blood and not, mixed with his determination and hard work got him this far, and they would help him here too.

That kid way back in time, the dreamer everyone stopped believing in, grew stronger. Every time he fell, every time he broke apart, those moments were followed by him picking up the pieces, supported by his friends and his sister, his chosen family. The scars, mental and physical, followed him daily, yet they didn’t stop him, no, he wore them like medals. If the world wouldn’t acknowledge him, distracted by the glowing haze of gifted geniuses, then he would work to be strong enough to capture their gazes again, but most importantly, to capture his own dream.

And when he set the ball that scored the winning point, getting the Argentinean volleyball team gold in the Olympics, and beating Japan, it was as if he could hear them all cheer him on. Like a blanket wrapped around him on a cold day. Iwaizumi, his lover, Matsukawa and Hanamaki, his brothers, his sister and his nephew, his family.

In the end, his win served as proof. Legends never die, and neither do dreams. Dreamers fueled by hope and determination will always find their way. Sometimes it may look different than what was expected, but as long as they don’t give up, they will find their way.


End file.
